A Memory Called Empire
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martineby Arkady Martine
Shares rank 88 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
People recommend it for thoughtful worldbuilding about societies disrupted by new technology and for its distinctive take on science fiction. One critic found it less engaging than others did.
People recommend it for thoughtful worldbuilding about societies disrupted by new technology and for its distinctive take on science fiction. One critic found it less engaging than others did.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 71%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Thoughtful worldbuilding about technological disruption
“incredibly thoughtful depictions of societies on the verge of disruption from new technology”
Comment from 8 Mar 2026 in “Science Fiction Is Dying. Long Live Post Sci-Fi?” “both of these are a fairly interesting take on scifi worldbuilding”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” Strongly recommended as excellent and distinctive
“These are all excellent books, each of which has something different to recommend them.”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Book Prizes Don't Work How You Think” “Heartily recommend in fact.”
Comment from 10 May 2026 in “Ask HN: What sci fi books are you reading now?”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| A Memory Called Empireby Arkady MartineThis page | 5 | 2 | 71% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
All 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I found the Aztec ones underwhelming”
“These are all excellent books, each of which has something different to recommend them.”
“Heartily recommend in fact.”
“incredibly thoughtful depictions of societies on the verge of disruption from new technology”
“she writes so well about people”
“I was less enamoured with A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine than others are”
“both of these are a fairly interesting take on scifi worldbuilding”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.